Vincent Gerard

This is my hubby. Also known as Vinny, Dowey, Dowebally, and (as of last night) Pickle Juice. (You may learn that I have an affinity for nicknames, comes from my daddy!) Unbelievably, the hubs and I have been married for 9 years! I can't believe it! Seems like just yesterday I was a freshman in college and my friend introduced me to this hunky senior with a hot red car! Vince is working hard to support our family and traveling here and there. Vince is a WONDERFUL father and his girls (all of us) are the most important things to him!

Barclay Kathryn

What to say? I'm Barclay, usually known as Barclay (not much you can do with Barclay). I was an elementary teacher for fours years until I had Bella. Now I am doing the job I have wanted to do ALL of my life, being a mom. I love these two girls more than I can possibly express and it is my joy and privilege to be able to spend each day with them. I recently entered the blog frontier, and although my blog followers will probably be able to be counted on one hand, I thought it would be exciting to be a part of something so neat. I love that there are many other moms out there facing the same joys, hardships, questions, surprises, and challenges that I am. I also hope to be a sort of medium to spread awareness for others that need prayers, help, or just someone to walk through life with!

Isabella Kathryn

Usually referred to as Bella. As well as Bells, Bellie, Belly Boo, Bellsie Bubs, Bubs, Bubba, Bells and Whistles.... Bella is our first born daughter. She is 6. Bella enjoys school, reading, riding her training-wheel free bike, she could color and write for hours, she loves singing to the Momma Mia soundtrack, anything princess or pink, having bows in her hair, playing dress up, and her little sisters! God blessed us with Bella a month early but she was perfectly healthy. In six years she has become such a bright, outgoing, sensitive, and fearless little girl. Bella really is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She is eager to please. If she hurts or disappoints someone it literally crushes her to tears. This last year she asked Jesus to be her Lord and Savior and we could not be more proud!! Love this sweet, blonde, blue eyed beauty!

Bryanna Karina

Usually known as Brynn. As well as Brynnie, Miley, Miley Moo, Geegs, Geegers, Brynnie Boo, and many more. Ten days before Bella turned 2 years old we were blessed with another beautiful, healthy girl by planned c-section. This time I was able to see my baby right after birth, watch her get weighed, bathed, etc. I couldn't wait for Bella to meet her. Brynn is now 4 and keeps me laughing all day long. Brynn, since she was about 2 months old has been the smiliest baby I have ever met. All you need to do is look at her and she will flash you a world class smile. Brynn is smiley, more shy and reserved about things than her big sis, can be quite the clown when she feels safe or gets in a silly mood, amazingly brilliant, she's been speaking full sentences since she was 19 months and continues to amaze us with what comes out of her mouth. She loves doing whatever her big sister is doing, dressing up, looking at books, her blankie, being held, twirling in her dresses, singing, and dancing whenever she hears music! Brynn is my compassionate baby, she hates to see people hurting. We just love this sweet, shy, snuggly, smiling little girl!

Brooklyn Blythe

Also known as Brookie, Brookie Cookie, Cookie Lu, Lulu B just to name a few. Sweet, sweet Brooklyn is our family's latest addition! We welcomed Brookie into our family on August 23rd 2010 at 12:23pm by planned c-section. I was nervous she would be a bit high maintenance since she came out screaming bloody murder and continued to wail anytime anyone touched her- get her footprints, take her temperature, etc. Amazingly, she would instantly stop the moment the Hubs touched her or began talking to her. And since her birthday, we have barely heard a peep out of her..... And fast forward 18 months, she definitely makes plenty of peeps now! :) We are full blown in the the terrible twos (which IMO last from 18-36 months) I believe. To make matters worse she's also cutting her 4 molars. She definitely knows what she wants but can't quite articulate it, so gets frustrated. Eating is also a hit or miss these days which is very foreign to me. Mixed with the crabby days though is the funniest personality ever. She is a riot! She LOVES chasing after her big sisters or having them chase and imitate her. She also has this adorable chubby face and will peek out of the corner of her eyes and just melt your heart! She is definitely shy at first but if you can get through to her she will keep you in stitches with her antics. We love you little BB and couldn't ask for a sweeter addition to our family!

Currently visiting...

Friday, October 30, 2009

Well I think the rain let up for one day the other week and we took advantage to get some more fall pics! Its raining again as I speak and we're hoping it clears tomorrow for a fun day of trick-o-treating!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

So I didn't continue my fall picture posts because my internet was not working during naptime today (gasp!). And naptime is my blog time. : ) So just a quick post tonight and I shall try to pick up tomorrow with my fall pics!

I came across this pic tonight and I just love it. Bella has the biggest, bluest, most beautiful eyes. When I saw this I was just dying to know what she was thinking behind those beautiful blues that day.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

I interrupt today's regular scheduled post (which is below) for some breaking news. Ok not breaking, but fun! I have been given two rewards. How fun is that!? My dear friend Somer rewarded me with this one:

Thanks Somer for thinking of me!

Rules for the reward:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their blog.

2. Share 10 honest things about yourself.

3. Present this award to 7 other whose blogs you find brilliant in design or content.

4. Tell those 7 people they have been awarded.

10 Honest Things About Myself:

1. I worry constantly about everything and my only saving grace is my savior Jesus Christ

2. We are currently trying to get preggers with a third blessing after suffering a miscarriage.

3. I was born in Vienna, Austria where my parents were missionaries. They would plan boarder crossings while I napped in hopes the guards wouldn't disturb a sleeping baby, and it worked! They have many crazy stories of bible smuggling during the iron curtain era.

4. I had really hard, complicated relationships through my school years and I am very thankful for the great friends I have today.

5. I love TV. I watch way too much. And I have no idea how I survived without Tivo.

6. I am the pickiest eater ever. I don't like most things, including most sweets (good for me though!). And I am trying my hardest to make sure my kiddos don't pick up this bad habit.

7. I hate cleaning. Don't get me wrong I love tidiness and organization, but when it comes down to cleaning out the fridge, the toilets, around the base boards, mopping, yuk! My hubby is a better cleaner than me!

8. I hated to read. That was until I discovered Francine Rivers (Redeeming Love to be specific), now I love to, well when I get the time.

9. I entered the blogging world (not writing my own yet but starting to read others) around this time last year and I am so thankful for the other women/mommies out there that share their lives with others so we can learn and grow from their happiness, sarrow, mistakes, strengths, and just being a fly on the wall of their lives.

10. I am tickled pink each and every time I get a comment on one of my posts! : )

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Today's Tuesday Blog hop theme is family fun. What is something fun you can do as a family? Well this time of year something that I love trying to do is get the typical fall pics- pumpkin patch, jumping in piles of leaves, family fall picture, in their costumes, etc. Since the hubs and I love picture taking and all of these things are free it can be a fun, inexpensive, family fun experience! I've been trying very hard to do these things but the cold and rainy weather has not made it very easy! Yet just this last week we had a few warmer, dryer days so we jumped at the opportunity.

Actually the first set of pictures I'm going to share was from a couple of weeks ago (I'll show a few more, each day, for the rest of the week, so be sure to come back and see!). Bella and her best friends continued our annual tradition of going to Royal Oaks Apple Orchard. We decided to go rain or shine since our weather has been just plain unpredictable this year. Well we got rain, and COLD! But we didn't let it stop us. : ) We bundled all the kiddos up and walked around enjoying the orchard, stopping for a brief merry-go-round ride under a nice shelter. Finally we stopped for lunch and warmed up a bit. Afterwards we hit the pumpkin patch, got our apple doughnuts and then took our wet, muddy selves home! Here are the pics:

Monday, October 26, 2009

Katie Grace was born October 24th at 8:37 am and she was 7 pounds 11 ounces and 21 inches long.

She is perfectly perfect and the new mommy and daddy couldn't be more smitten.

Jake and Shari were able to be there for most of the birth of their baby girl (Shari was there the entire time). And they even allowed Jake to cut the umbilical cord. The new little family returned to their temporary home, for the next 30 days until the adoption is finalized, yesterday. Most of the Usual Suspects (the hubs stayed home with the kiddos) headed up yesterday afternoon to get our hands on her!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

I HATE waiting. I am so impatient. Something that has always been really hard for me is waiting those 2 or so weeks after attempting to conceive to see if in fact we were successful. It KILLS me. Perhaps that is why with all of my pregnancies so far I have had at least one negative result before receiving my positive one. So after our miscarriage last month and being anxious to move on from that and grow our family I thought I would surely die before before I could take the next test. The D Day came and went, my "friend" did not make an appearance. So I thought I'd give it another day and maybe one more. Perhaps proving to myself that I can be patient when I want to be. But really instead, as each day passed I was just that much more convinced that I was pregnant. Until today. My friend arrived. Right before walking into my small group at church. It took about everything in me to not go grab Brynn and go back home. And really the only reason I didn't was because I had already dropped my things off in our meeting room. I wondered why I wasn't pregnant, why do I need to keep waiting, is this another miscarriage, are we going to be able to get pregnant and keep the baby,why, why why? Currently we are doing Beth Moore's study on the book of Esther. If you are a woman, it is AMAZING. Well in today's lesson, He really spoke to me. Honestly, I have felt God's answer to prayer and such but I'm not sure I have ever really had Him speak to me so profoundly or right when I needed it the most. Today Beth talked about time. Her points were: Reflect on the importance of....1. When its time.2. When its time to wait.3. When its time to wait for someone else's time.4. When the meantime is God's time.

Being the impatient person that I am Number 4 was the most profound for me. One point that she really stressed was that when you are waiting, waiting, waiting, that's God's time. God is never inactive. He's always up to something. And the biggest lesson that touched me was that our strength is depleted the longer we wait on that ONE THING or that ONE PERSON. We must Wait on the LORD.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 kjv

Its so crazy (well actually a total God thing) that she chose that verse. It has always been my favorite but today it took on new meaning for me.

So I just want to say, as you wait upon, whatever (to get pregnant, your child to get better, to find a spouse, to find that perfect job) this is just a reminder to wait, wait on the Lord, not that thing.

And so I'll wait. Not to get that positive pregnancy test (although it will take all my strength and constant reminding not to) but on the Lord. He has perfect timing. And he's never inactive. So I know he has a plan and I will wait on Him to reveal it to me. Will you pray for me as I try to do that, without it I don't have a chance? : )

Hope that can bring you some encouragement today, it sure helped me. : )

Monday, October 19, 2009

So I don't have time to really post today because Poppi Glass is coming in to town and I have to clean, clean, clean!!! I just wanted to quick pop in and ask for your prayers. This next week or so is going to be THE BIG week. Remember the Lymans, whose updates are here and here? Well tomorrow is the birth mom's due date. So its just a waiting game now!! So just be in prayer for them and the birth parents as you think of it this next week or so. I will be sure to keep you posted! Also she has started up her own blog, so if she's gives me permission I'll send you on over there so you can send your love and keep track of the progress! Last night we had them for a quick dinner on their way up to WI to wait for baby Katie Grace to be born. It was great to catch up and pray for them before the big day!

About Me

I used to be an elementary teacher but am now a stay-at-home mommy with three sweet baby girls. Bella is 6, Brynn is 4, and Brooklyn is 1. We also have a sweet Golden Retriever named Beckham. I have been married to the love of my life, Vincent, for almost 12 years. Although I hate the cold I am a Chicago girl through and through. And thats about all I've got!